


A Light in the Dark

by LadyBluePhoenix



Category: Deltarune (Video Game)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-05 23:37:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16820728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyBluePhoenix/pseuds/LadyBluePhoenix
Summary: Acacia (Ah-kay-sha) is the only other human besides Kris that lives in Hometown. After having a strange dream she is thrown into the chaos with Susie and Kris, forced to go through trials and fulfill a prophecy in this strange new world.With her past haunting her at every turn she has to persevere and fight to keep going, not only for her sake but for her students and the friends she meets along the way.Kris is male in this. If you have not played Deltarune this is going to follow the game and will contain spoilers. I plan on having Rouxls x OC in this but it's not going to be the focus on the story. There will be a few things later on in the story that may be sensitive to certain people. Mainly things dealing with Acacia's traumatic past.





	1. Chapter 1

Acacia drifted in darkness as her body was suspended in the air. Her eyes were heavy as she opened them but of course there was nothing there to be seen. No one was there and nothing could be heard yet she felt a presence there with her. Something in the void.

"Hello?" She spoke in a soft voice but was only greeted by silence. " I know you're there. I can feel you." She said as she looked around. " Who are you?" She asked.

"Curious." the being finally spoke. " You are one of the light"

" One of light? What does that mean?" She asked. 

Suddenly her chest began to glow blue. She gasped as her soul floated before her. Her eyes glowed as she observed it curiously. It felt so foreign yet so familiar to her. The blue heart was pulsating as she drew near. 

" You have a soul of Integrity. You are honest and upright even after facing such trying hardships. You carry compassion for others, both monster and human." the being spoke.

"How do you know all that?" She asked.

" I know many things." it said. " You have lost so much and gained little, yet you are content with what little you have." The being paused for a moment before speaking again. " Yes. You shall be their guardian."

"Who's guardian? What does my past have to do with any of this?" She asked as she started to feel frustrated. The being only seemed to have a one track mind.

Just then four objects appeared before her. A blue club, a green heart, a purple spade, and a cyan diamond. 

"You must find the others. Diamond: The Peacemaker." The cyan diamond began to glow brightly. " Spade with the heart of a Warrior." The purple spade began to glow brightly. "The Heart of the Healer" The green heart began to glow. " And you.... The Club; Defender and Guardian of the four. " With the the club began to glow. 

Acacia was blinded by the light as she shielded her eyes. She could sense the being drifting away. " Wait, What do you mean?! I don't understand!!!!" She yelled.

\----------

Acacia opened her eyes as her alarm went off. She sat up , rubbing her eyes and kicked the covers off. " What a weird dream." She yawned. She stood up, turning off her alarm as she made her way over to the bathroom. She grimaced as she saw her messy black hair. Her deep blue eyes scanned over her features.

Her hair was cut in a longer pixie style. She had beautiful deep blue eyes and a soft pale complexion decorated with freckles. Acacia sighed softly as she turned to start the water for a shower. 

Acacia was a janitor at the school in Hometown. It wasnt much but she enjoyed her work and being around the kids. She moved here about 6 years ago after she went through an ugly divorce with her husband. She decided that it would be best to leave everything behind and start a new life in a new town. Being one of the few humans in town it was difficult to adjust to her new life. She was no stranger to monsters but it was strange to be in such a small town with no other humans to connect with. In her time there she never looked to remarry. While marrying a monster wasn't illegal it was taboo. She personally didnt have an issue with the idea but she wouldn't even know how to begin dating someone again. To her, dating wasn't much of a priority anymore.

She finished her shower and quickly threw on her clothes. She dusted a bit of eyeshadow on and stuck with a natural color lip gloss before grabbing her keys and heading out the door. 

The sun was shining brightly. She smiled as she started walking towards the school. One good thing about living in such a small town; you lived near everything. Thankfully she only lived a few blocks from the school. It was only a five minute walk from her small home.

\----------

Once Acacia reached the school she entered into the halls and greeted the students as they gathered their things from their lockers. She turned to see Toriel arrive with her son Kris.

" Good morning, Ms. Toriel and good morning to you, Kris" Acacia said with a smile. Toriel's face lit up as always. 

"Good morning, Ms. Acacia. How are you today?" She asked.

" I'm doing well. It's such a beautiful day today. I'm sure the kids would enjoy going to the park for a field trip. I hear from Alphys that they've been working pretty hard in her classroom. Isn't that right Kris?" She laughed. Kris grinned and nodded with pride.

" Oh that's a wonderful idea. I'm sure they'll enjoy that!" Toriel smiled.

"Glad you think so as well" Acacia winked. " Well I better get to work. I wont keep you" She said as she waved.

"Of course , dear. Have a wonderful day." Toriel said as she waved back.

Acacia made her way down the hall but stopped when she noticed someone leaving the supply closet which was her work space. She noticed the person took off down the opposite hallway towards the classrooms. Acacia assumed it was a student getting something for a teacher. Nothing out of the norm.

She shrugged it off as she opened the door. She froze, staring wide eyed at the condition of the room. " What?!" 

Her eyes darted across the room to find boardgames and decks of cards scattered across the floor, among other things. Whoever was in here had completely trashed the room. Acacia set her things down and walked back out of the room to find the student she saw earlier. She headed over to Toriel's classroom , gently knocking before she opened the door. 

" Oh, Ms. Acacia. Hello" Toriel greeted her. 

" Hi Ms. Toriel, I'm so sorry to bother you but could I borrow you for just a moment?" She asked. Toriel nodded and excused herself as she stepped into the hallway. 

" Yes, dear. What can I do for you?" She asked.

" Did you happen to send one of your students into the supply room?" She asked.

" Why no. Is everything alright?" Toriel asked, looking concerned. 

" Oh of course, I just was curious. I have to keep a log of what's taken so I'll know when we're running low." Acacia wasn't necessarily lying but she didnt want to assume it was a student who trashed the room. No matter how it seemed.

" I'm afraid not. I'm sure you can check with Professor Alphys. She's always running out of chalk." Toriel smiled.

"Ah, thank you so much. " Acacia said. " I'll let you get back to your students." She said as she left.

\----------

Acacia made her way over to Alphys' classroom to find Kris speaking wih another student out in the hallway. "Is that...Susie?" She spoke under her breath.

Susie was well known as the delinquent in the school. She tended to have a strong stand-off demeanor and looked as if she would rough anyone up, student or teacher. Sure enough, she watched as Susie grabbed Kris and lifted him off the ground with ease. Her eyes widened when she pushed Kris against the locker. Acacia immediately slammed her foot against the floor, causing her step to echo in the hallway. Susie dropped Kris and turned to see where the noise came from. 

Acacia played it off as if she saw nothing. " Oh, hello Susie. Kris." She said with a smile. " Is everything alright?" she asked.

"Ah, yeah. Kris and I were just heading to get Alphys some more chalk. Seems she always running out." Susie said. It was hard to make eye contact with her since she let her bangs cover her eyes. 

" Oh, well I was just heading back to the supply room. Why dont we head there together?" She said.

Susie just sighed, shoving her hands inside her pockets as she walked passed Acacia. " Sure." 

Acacia turned to give Kris a knowning look. When their eyes met she had a look of concern as if to ask if he was ok. Thankfully he gave her two thumbs up which made her smile. They walked down the hall together, catching up with Susie.

Once they arrived at the supply room, Acacia opened the door. The three of them froze when they saw how dark it was. " What? I'm sure I left the light on." she said as she leaned in.

"What gives? It's really dark in there!" Susie said.

She was right. Susie may not have sensed it but Acacia could tell there was something wrong. She didnt consider herself to be a paranoid person but this wasn't a simple matter of someone turning off the light. If that were the case the light from the hallway would atleast illuminate some part of the room. Yet, when Acacia looked inside, she couldn't see two feet in front of her.

" What's the matter? Just turn the freaking light on" Susie said. 

" Why....don't you two go back to class. I'll bring the chalk to Alphys in a minute." Acacia said. 

"What? No way. Are you like afraid of the dark or something?" Susie huffed before she walked passed the two humans.

" Wait, Susie.." She tried to stop her but was ignored. Acacia sighed, turning back to face Kris. He shrugged and made his way inside as well, leaving her to herself. 

" Hey cleaning lady! you coming or what?" Susie called from the void.

Acacia glared a bit before she made her way in. Perhaps she was just uneasy after her weird dream last night. In a way, this darkness felt very similar.

" I can't find the light switch, is it deeper in?" Susie asked.

Before Acacia could reply the door slammed shut behind them, causing all three of them to scream.

" H-Hey, cleaning lady. Why did you shut the door!?" Susie yelled.

"I-I didn't!!" Acacia yelled back.

" Are you kidding me!?"

The three of them headed to the door, banging against it to draw someone's attention.

"Let us out!!!" Susie yelled. Acacia was tugging on the doorknob trying to open it.

The three of them froze when they felt the ground shaking. 

"E-Earthquake?" Acacia gasped as she held her hands against the student , urging them to step back. All of the sudden the floor began to collaspe beneath their feet.

They let out a scream as they fell further.

....Dark, Darker, Yet Darker.

\----------


	2. The Great Door

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Acacia wakes up in a unknown realm and finds herself alone. As she searches for Kris and Susie she stubbles upon a cloaked figure and a curious enemy.

There was a deafening silence.

Acacia stirred, groaning as her body ached. She sat up slowly and looked around . " Where....where am I?" She said softly. There was a slight echo in the air. Her voice was met with more silence. She was alone.

Alone.

She gasped and looked around frantically for Susie and Kris. To her dismay, they were no where to be seen. "Susie?! Kris!?" She cried out. " Oh god" she began to panic. " Please, you two, answer me!!" She yelled. 

She stood up, ignoring the ache in her body as she scanned the area. Her breathing increased as she searched desperately for any sign of them. Unfortunately she couldn't see anything. " Where are they? Oh god, please be ok." She said as she sighed. Well, there was no point in sitting around. Perhaps Kris and Susie would be up ahead.

Without wasting another moment she made her way deeper into unknown territory. The area seemed to be barren, having little to no plant life in the area. Nothing but rock and dirt surrounded her as she walked. All the while she couldn't help but feel as if she was being watched. Despite her fear she carried onward, occassionally calling out for Kris and Susie. 

She stopped when she noticed something against the wall. There seem to be a hole with this black substance dripping down onto the ground. Acacia swallowed a bit as she slowly approached it. She leaned over, peering inside, until something blue flashed across her view. She screamed and jumped back. When she landed she began to slide down to a lower level of the cavern. 

Acacia screamed as she slid further and further until she finally hit solid ground. She tumbled a few feet before she came to a complete stop. Her body wasn't ready for that rapid decline. Her joints had locked up, causing her to twist her ankle a bit. 

" I hope it doesn't start swelling." she sighed. " It's not like I'm going to find any ice down here." She said as she carefully stood. When she looked up she noticed buildings in the distance. 

"What in the world.." Her eyes widened as she slowly walked towards the city. " Is there an entire city underground?" She said. It wasn't a long walk to the entrance and right before her she could see what looked to be shops nearby. What amazed her most was the fact that the buildings appeared to be occupied.

"Hello?" She called out as she approached one of the shops. She gently knocked before she tried opening the door. Unfortunately the door was locked. " Is anyone there?" She called out but once again was met with only silence.

Acacia sighed as she tried one door after the other, every one of them locked. Without having any other choice she headed deeper into the city making her way to a castle. There wasn't a soul in sight, or so she thought.

" Hello." She heard a small voice say to her. She looked ahead of her and saw a small cloaked figure before her at the head of the stairs. 

" Oh thank goodness. I was afraid there was no one here." She sighed with relief. " Please, have you seen anyone else. I came here with two kids. A monster and a human." She said.

"A monster and a human you say?" The figure seemed to ponder for a moment. " Could it be? The prophecy?" he spoke, mostly to himself. He looked back to the woman before him . "Please, come. You can rest til you friends get here." He said.

Acacia stepped up but when she applied pressure she fell to her knees, hissing in pain. " Dang it..." she mumbled, clenching her ankle. She could hear footsteps quickly approaching her.

" Oh goodness, are you injured!?" He said as she ran to her side. " Please hold on a moment. I shall heal you." He said as he held his hands over her ankle. A soft green glow emitted from his person which soon engulfed her own body. Instantly her aches and scraps were relieved of all pain. " There, how's that?" He asked.

Acacia slowly stood, smiling as she rolled her foot. "That's amazing. Thank you so much!" She said with a smile.

She could sense the small being smiling underneath his hood. " Its no trouble. I'm happy to help!" He said with enthusiasm. He almost reminded her of Toriel in how eager he was to help someone. The thought made her chuckle a bit. 

"I'm Ralsei, by the way. What's your name?" he asked.

" It's nice to meet you Ralsei. My name is Acacia." she replied.

"Acacia. You said you came here with your friends?" He asked, looking up at her.

" Yes. Kris and Susie. We fell and ended up here. At least, I think we all did. When I came too I couldn't find them anywhere." She said with a look of worry. Ralsei gently took her hand to reassure her.

" Don't worry, Acacia. I'm sure they will show up soon. When they do, I will explain everything." He said.

What did he mean by explain everything? Was there a reason for them being down here?

\----------

Meanwhile...

Kris and Susie were panting after being bombarded with spades. 

" What the hell!!" Susie yelled. " What is going on!? I swear if that cleaning lady had something to do with this..." She growled. Kris, of course, stood there in silence which didn't help with Susie's frustration. " Ugh! Come on, lets keep moving before it starts raining more spades of death upon us."

The two of them walked further, sliding down the slopes until they came to the entrance of the city. They stood there, peering up at the buildings. " Hey...you have any idea what the heck this place is?" Susie asked.

Silence.

"Me neither." Susie sighed. " Wonder if there's anyone in the building up there."

The two of them slowly made their way through the city entrance, past the shops after trying to open the doors. Alas, they were all still locked. They continued on until they reached the head of the stairs, standing before the castle.

"Huh? A castle?" Susie said as she crossed her arms. " Why the hell is there a castle in a supply closet?"

Kris looked at her for a moment. Did she seriously think they were still in the supply room?

"Welcome heroes!" A voice spoke. Kris and Susie looked forward, seeing the hooded figure and...Acacia?

"Kris! Susie!!" She yelled as she ran over to them, hugging them tightly. Kris wrapped an arm around her, while Susie merely tensed and the unwanted affection. " Thank goodness, you're both ok!"

"Ok? You call us falling down into an underworld and being bombarded by spades 'ok'?" Susie said with a glare.

"You're both still alive, aren't you?" She replied. Susie's features softened a bit.

"We've been expecting you two." Ralsei interjected. The three of them turned to face the hooded figure. Please won't you come forward." He said.

They walked closer, standing before Ralsei. " Now that you're both here, I can explain to you what is going on." He said.

" I certainly would like to know" Acacia said with a nervous laugh.

Ralsei spent the next few minutes explaining to them the prophecy of his people of Darkness. 

" So... let me get this straight. There's this whole light and dark thing that's gone out of whack and your people just happen to have a prophecy about a human and monster coming together with you to save the world?" Susie said.

" Yeah that's pretty much it." Ralsei said. " I deeply believe you two are the heroes of the legend. That despite the enemies you may face, you two have the courage to save the world!"

Susie crossed her arms and looked away. " You're funny..." she said. " Thanks but I'm not hero." She said.

" Susie..." Acacia looked at her, worried.

" I'm not a hero and you know it! " She yelled. 

"Please, if you do nothing then the world will be destroyed! We can't do it without you, Susie!" Ralsei pleaded.

"What do I care if the world is destroyed? The world never cared about me." She spat. 

" We care about you, Susie." Acacia said. 

" You don't even know me! You're just the janitor!!" Susie yelled as she turned to leave.

"S-Susie wait!!!" Ralsei yelled. 

Suddenly there was a rupture of laughter filling the air as a familiar flash of blue sped by, knocking Ralsei off to the side. Kris, Susie and Acacia jumped back at the explosion. When the smoke cleared they were met with what looked like a little kid on a.....bike lit on fire?

"HO HO HO!!! The heroes are already running away and they didn't even know I was here!" the little spade laughed. " My dad is going to make me son of the month!" He said in excitement.

"Who the hell are you?" Susie asked through the grit of her teeth.

"Why I'm.." he paused to do the most ungraceful 360 degree turn on his bike before posing. " The bad guy!!!"

Acacia covered her mouth, trying not to laugh. She couldn't help but find him to be adorable. Like a kid playing pretend. 

" you clowns want to seal our dark fountain, huh?? And-still picturing you guys as clowns- save the world from eternal darkness, huh??" He chuckled.

Susie made a confused looked before the 'bad guy' began speaking again.

"Don't try to deny it. We both know you'll go east. It's your only way home!" He laughed. " But , I, Lancer, won't let you go there!" he yelled.

'So, his name is Lancer.' Acacia thought to herself. She couldn't hide her smile as she watched him monologue.

" I've got a flawless two step plan to ensure it!" Lance grinned as he held up a finger. " Step one! I thrash you guys. " He then held up two fingers. " Step two. You lose!!" He said before sticking his tongue out.

Susie smirked as she crossed her arms . " Hmm. Nice plan, kid."

"R-Really?" Lancer said

"Yeah actually. Mind if we use it on you instead!?" Susie chuckled as an axe suddenly appeared in her hands. " I don't know how I got an axe but this is awesome!!!" she yelled as she charged at Lancer.

"S-Susie!" Acacia yelled. Susie went to attack but was blocked by a shield.

" What the-?" Susie looked as the shield was lowered to reveal Acacia, who was just as surprised. "Move it!!" Susie growled.

" I'm not going to let you hurt him! He's just a kid!" Acacia yelled.

" He's the enemy!!" She spat.

Kris waved at Lancer, warning him about Susie's attacks. Ultimately it made it easier for him to dodge her attacks. To Acacia's dismay, Lancer wasn't the charming little kid anymore. This kid knew how to fight. She was definitely getting her workout trying to dodge when he would fly by on his bike.

After what seemed like an eternity, Lancer finally seemed to back down.

"Wait! Wait a second!" Lancer yelled. Everyone else was breathing heavily from the scrap. "My bikes running out of fuel! Alright you punk-a-roo's You had the luck of the draw this time but next time the loser will be you!" He said before bursting out into a fit of laughter. " Bye, losers!!! I gotta get home before dinner!" And with that he was gone.

The three of them collapsed to the ground, panting. 

" What the hell..." Susie said as she breathed.

" Susie! You can't just go around swinging an axe at people!!" Acacia yelled.

"Oh spare me the lecture. You're not my teacher. I highly doubt you can even teach, that's why you're just the cleaning lady!" Susie snapped.

Acacia sighed. She didn't know what else she could possibly say to the stubborn kid. 

Ralsei hurried back over to them. " H-Hey, are you guys ok?"

"Yeah. I think so. Are you ok?" Acacia asked.

" I-I'm alright." He replied.

" Jeez, would you take off that hood. I can't even understand a word you're saying." Susie said.

Ralsei jolted a bit. " Oh uh, s-sorry!" He said as he reached up and discarded his cloak. The three of them looked to see Ralsei wearing a green hat with matching tunic and pink scarf. Acacia noticed the heart embroidered on his chest. She couldn't help but think of the dream she had.

'A green heart...' she thought to herself. Her thoughts were interrupted by Ralsei yelling after Susie. She looked up to find Susie leaving.

"Ah! Susie!!!" She yelled. She sighed and looked over to Ralsei who seemed disappointed.

" I suppose its just the three of us, then.." Ralsei said as she looked down. " I'm a prince but as you can see I don't have any subjects. I've been waiting alone here, my whole life, waiting for you two to arrive." He looked up with a smile. " So... I'm really happy to meet you. I hope we can become good friends, Kris. Acacia." He said as he adjusted his glasses.

"Of course, Ralsei. We can get through this together." She said with a reassuring smile.

Ralsei returned the smiled and nodded. " Let's try to find Susie."

\----------

The three of the headed off, out of the city and down the eastern path. The path was pretty linear which made things easy for them. They kept walking until they they reached a massive golden door which was slightly ajar.

"oh my! The Great Door is opened!?" Ralsei said with a gasp. " No wonder Lancer was able to come through." He said. 

" Is...that bad?" Acacia asked. 

" This door leads to the other side of the kingdom, which is more perilous and ruthless than mine. Once we go through this door, there will be no turning back." He said

The three of them looked ahead. Nothing could be seen past the door. Yet again they were only met with more darkness. " Let's do our best, alright?"" Ralsei said. Kris and Acacia nodded in agreement as the three of them entered the Great Door.

This....is where their real journey begins...


	3. New Connections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio make their way through the fields and mazes trying to catch up with Susie. Along the way they do their best to avoid any conflicts to help their cause.

Ralsei shut the door behind them before he turned to face Acacia. They exchanged smiles as they turned to the face the road ahead. Acacia froze, staring wide eyed as brightly colored leaves of scarlet rained down on them. Though there was no wind, the leaves danced and fell as if it were Fall. There was a soft scent of spice in the air. Perhaps cinnamon?

Acacia closed her eyes as she inhaled slowly. She smiled with a sigh. " Its so beautiful" She said.

Ralsei smiled as he stood next to her, coming up to her shoulders in height which made him even more adorable in her eyes. " This field will lead us to the castle. We will have to be careful. There is a maze up ahead."

"Sounds interesting. I suppose we shouldn't waste any time. We still need to find Susie." She said as she walked on ahead. Kris was already just up the path, waiting on them.

They rounded the corner and stopped when they noticed the fields. It was all so beautiful. She never knew a world like this could even exist.

Her thoughts were cut off by Kris tugging on her arm. She looked down and noticed him pointing to a sign off to the side. They walked over to the sign which read, ' Enemies Ahead! You're gonna die! -Lancer'

"I want to believe he joking but seeing as how dangerous he was during out fight..." Acacia didn't even finish her statement. She just sighed. "Why can't we just get along?" She said.

"You know, you don't have to fight." Ralsei said. " If you can distract the attackers by talking to them I can use a pacify spell on them." He said with a smile.

" Ralsei thats a great idea!" She said before looking over to Kris. " How does that sound to you?"

Kris gave a thumbs up.

"UH...s-speaking of..."Ralsei pointed up ahead. Kris and Acacia looked and saw someone pacing around in the fields. He looked like a Diamond?

" Is he dangerous?" Acacia asked.

" Everyone here has the potential to be dangerous but we have to stand true to our morals." Ralsei replied. Acacia and Kris nodded in agreement.

The three of them walked through the field, doing their best to avoid the guard. Acacia could've sworn they made eye contact. Perhaps the guard didnt want to fight?

They rushed past without confrontation and hurried further down the path. Up ahead they could see Lancer standing next to another one of his signs. They approached him cautiously as he turned to face them. 

"Ho ho ho, if it isn't my three favorite people." He grinned. "Psyche!!! You guys aren't even in my top five!" He laughed.

Ralsei sighed. "Lancer, where's Susie?" He asked.

Lancer's tongue slip out as he continued to grin. " You mean the purple girl? Ho ho ho! You fools! You're too late to stop me!" He laughed.

Ralsei looked at him shocked. " What did you do?"

Lancer only laughed. " It was so simple. She beat me up, so I ran away.."

Kris and Ralsei looked dumbfounded for a moment. " That was...anticlimatic"

Acacia moved closer to Lancer. " You're not hurt are you?" She asked, looking worried. Lancer seemed to be taken back by her concern.

"No. I wasn't hurt. " He said, looking up at Acacia who crouched down. She hugged her knees, smiling at the spade.

" Didn't someone need to go because they were going to miss dinner?" She teased.

" w-well Yeah but the purple girl is down that way." He replied.

"Well why don't you come with us?" She asked. " we can get you back home in time for you to eat."

" I don't think that's a good idea." He said. Acacia was about to ask what he meant but Lancer ran off before she could say anything. 

She looked back at Ralsei and Kris who only shrugged. 

\----------

The three of them continued on, doing their best to avoid any and all confrontations. What few battles they fought consisted of them complimenting, chatting up and even sometimes flirting with the Rudinns to get them to calm down just so Ralsei could pacify them. They ended up with a few bumps and scrapes but all that mattered was that they got out alive.

They pressed on, meeting the most colorful characters and coming across interesting puzzles which they easily solved together. They continued down the path until they reached an ahead with another one of Lancer's signs.

" it reads, ' Behold, the maze of death! Prepare to get lost, clowns!!!' Signed by Lancer" Ralsei read the sign aloud. He sighed a bit and turned to Acacia and Kris. "Well, we're here. We have to be careful from here on. Who knows who or what we will run into." He said.

" It doesn't look like much of a maze to me." She said, looking around. 

"It's not the maze I'm worried about" Ralsei replied. Acacia and Kris looked at each other for a moment before moving on. 

They wandered for a few minutes before they came across a chest. Ralsei smiled and hurried over to it before he opened it and pulled out a white ribbon. " Look at this! It'd a piece of armor!" He said.

"Armor?" Acacia looked at it confused.

" Yes. This white ribbon can increase your defense. Here, why don't you try it out?" He said, handing it to Acacia. She took the white satin ribbon and looked at it for a moment.

"Alright. Thank you Ralsei." She said with a smile. She tied the ribbon around her neck, wearing it as a choker. Once she fastened it she dropped her hands and posed a bit. " How does it look?"

Kris clapped as Ralsei nodded. " It suites you, Acacia!" She smiled as bowed a bit.

" Come on, lets keep going." She said.

\----------

Susie was making her way through the maze herself, attacking anyone who so much as looked at her. She was still fuming after her conversation with Acacia and Ralsei. Who the hell did they think they were to assume she even wanted to be part of this? What made them think she cared about these pathetic Darkeners or whatever the hell they were calling themselves.

They should see that she didn't need them. Just look at how far she's gotten and they were still a ways behind her. 

Susie smirked to herself . She would be out of here in no time and she didn't care if they made it out of here alive or not. She refused to be slowed down by such weaklings.

While she was in thought she came to this door. She tried to push it open but it wouldn't budge.

"....You've got to be kidding me.."

\----------

Meanwhile...

"Great job guys! We got 60$!! That was pretty easy since they were all support members" Ralsei chuckled. 

Lancer slid in with his goofy smile. "Sweet! How much do I get?

"You...Lost, Lancer. You don't get anything." Ralsei replied.

Lancer looked down a bit. His tongue was still protruding from his lips. "Oh." He said. " Can I have some of yours?"

"No!" Ralsei yelled.

"You can have mine, Lancer" Acacia said with a smile. Both Ralsei and Lancer looked at her in surprise.

Kris divided the money three ways and walked over to Lancer, giving him 20$. Lancer took it, looking down at the money in his hand for a moment before looking up at Acacia. 

" I can really keep it?" He asked as Acacia knelt down in front of him. 

"Of course. Maybe you can get yourself something nice." She smiled as she gently placed her hand on his shoulder. Lancer just looked up at her with his tongue still stuck out. She could barely hold in her laugh. She found him to be so adorable. Misled...but charming.

"Are you my mommy now?" He asked.

Acacia's face fell as she quickly removed her hand. " Wh- I... Why would you ask that?" Her words came out more aggressive than she meant them to.

Lance looked down, clinching the money in his hands. " Well, lesser dad always told me that a mommy is someone who takes care of you like a daddy would but they tend to spoil you more. He also said that they are kind and they kiss boo boos when you get hurt." He looked back up at her. " I never had a mommy but.. I always wondered what it'd be like to have one."

Acacia didn't know what to say. She only sat there, frozen. Lancer noticed a certain look in her eyes. He felt it'd be best to leave the subject alone so he started to walk off. He stopped, turning back with a smile. " Thank you!" He said before running off.

Acacia stayed on her knees as Ralsei approached her. Kris, however, stayed back watching Acacia closely.

" Acacia?" Ralsei said softly as he placed his hand on her shoulder. When she turned she smiled. 

" I'm alright. I was just...caught off guard." She said as she stood up, brushing her knees off. " Come on. We better hurry." She said before she started walking away. Ralsei watched in, worried. Something seemed to change in her.

Ralsei looked back at Kris who took his hand and walked with him to catch up to Acacia.

\----------

Susie had been standing at the door for a while, pushing and punching at it to get it to open. 

"Ugh!!! Open up you stupid door!!!" She yelled as she got a running start to jump kick the door. Right when she drew near the door suddenly opened causing her to fly through it. " WOAH!"

Susie fell to the ground, rubbing her head when she looked up. She heard footsteps coming from behind her.

"Susie!" Ralsei called out.

Susie growled. " Oh Great. It's you guys..." She mumbled.

"We're so relieved to see you are ok!" He said in excitement. Kris walked over to Susie, holding out his hand to help her up. She just stared at his hand for a moment before batting it away and got up herself.

"Yeah Yeah. So you guys here to lecture me again on my bad choices?" She asked.

" No, we were just worried about you." Acacia said. " We're glad to find that you're alright." She smiled. Susie just rolled her eyes. 

" Whatever." she mumbled.

" We should stick together, Susie. Who knows what traps will be ahead. It will only get more difficult, here on out" Ralsei said.

" Why would I want to travel with you guys? I was doing just fine on my own." She said.

Acacia walked over to her and looked at you. " Susie. I know I was hard on you earlier, but we only say the things we do because we want you to be safe. Not everything and everyone has to be fought. Most of the Darkeners don't even want to fight. " She said. " So please, Susie. Won't you come with us?" She asked.

Susie looked at her for a moment before she sighed. " Fine. This place is too small anyway. I'll just keep running into you guys again and again." she said.

"Awesome! Our team is complete!! No we can move onward, towards Card Castle!!!!" Ralsei cheered.

Kris and Acacia cheered with Ralsei as they walked forwards. Meanwhile Susie just sighed, staying as far back as she could.

*Susie follows at a distance such that no one can tell she's associated!*


	4. Rouxl's Gate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group has time to rest before they move on. They find more puzzles and enemies along the way and Lancer learns about what it really means to be scary!

The group travelled onward, heading to what looks like a shop. They noticed someone standing nearby, making intense eye contact with them. He looked like he was from a puzzle set. In the back of the group, Ralsei and Susie were having a discussion on fighting.

"What is you just took it easy on them?" Ralsei asked.

" Whats the fun in that?" Susie said. " Besides they attacked us first."

" Yeah but if you weaken an enemy I can use my pacify spell on them and no one will get hurt." He pleaded.

"Yawn..." Susie huffed and walked faster to move past Ralsei.

Kris made his way over to the strange guy staring at them.

"Hey. Hey kid. You wanna buy some information?" His eyes shifted as he grinned. " It's only 50$"

Kris shook his head no which made the guy start sweating. 

"Er, did I say 50$!? I-I meant 10$!!" He stuttered. Kris only shook his head again. "1$!!! I'll sell it to you for 1$!" He yelled. Kris gave him a thumbs up.

Acacia blinked, having watched the entire exchange. Man this kid knew how to haggle.

The guy shifted over to the side and the group decided to follow him. They came to a dead end where others like him were standing around. There was also a sizeable hole in the ground. 

Ralsei and Susie followed Kris to talk to the other puzzle guys while Acacia decided to talk to their little ring leader. He jumped a bit and looked away nervously. " We're sorry. We're normally puzzle guys but we've been forced out of the kingdom so we're here, trying to make ends meet by selling information."

"Thats terrible. How did this happen?" She asked.

"Well... When the King got power, he fired everyone and replaced all puzzle makers with...HIM" the puzzle guy spat.

"Him?" She asked with a tilt of her head.

"Rouxls Kaard. Lord of the Puzzle" He exagerrated that last bit. "Be careful.." He said.

Acacia looked back at the group who were laughing about something. While they were ditracted, Acacia reached into her pocket and handed all her Dark Dollars to the puzzle guy. HE looked at her for a moment in shock.

"What's this?" He asked.

"This is all I have. It's not much but you need it more than I do. " She smiled.

The puzzle guy began to tear up a bit. " I...don't know what to say. "

"Don't worry about it. Just keep yourselves safe, alright?" She said. The puzzle guy took the money and put it in his ..pocket? She wasn't going to ask.

Acacia turned and walked back over to the group. When she drew near she heard her name come up. " You guys talking about me?" She laughed. They turned to look at her with smiles.

"We were just talking about Lancer." Ralsei said.

"Oh yeah?" She asked, curiously.

" Yeah. The King didn't even give up severance pay when he fired us. His son just gave us all beanies. Itchy beanies." The puzzle guy said.

"I think its sweet that Lancer had the heart to give you something. Anything he could give. " She said. " It may not seem like much but I think Lancer really cares about you guys. " 

The puzzles looked at each other for a moment. A pang of guilt hitting them. "He...certainly isn't his Father. Even though he tries to be." One said.

"I see..." She looked down in thought. The King didn't sound like such a great guy. He sounded like he was manipulating his son.

"Hey, Acacia come on. There's that store up ahead." Ralsei said, snapping her out of her thought.

"Coming." 

\----------

Lancer was sitting by a tree. In his hands was a small polished stone which he bought at Seam's little shop. It was the only thing he could afford with the money he was given but he was ok with that. He found the stone to be rather pretty. He turned the stone in his hand, watching it shimmer. It was white and had flecks of all kinds of color in it.

"Lancer? What are thou doing here?"

Lancer clinched the stone in his hand and looked up at the tall man dressed in his blue uniform. His white hair cascading down to his shoulders. " I was just taking a break before I thrash those clowns!" He said with a grin.

"Tis only a matter of time. Those fools will know not what hit them!" He laughed.

" Say, lesser dad. I was wondering..." Lancer paused as he looked down at his fist. " What does it mean to be a family?" He asked.

Rouxls looked down at the boy. He may play it cool and act as though he didn't care for the kid but deep down he hated to see the boy suffer. Especially since he was the one having to take care of him. "Why, Doth thou not know? Family is those whom stick together through thick and thin. They build up thine members and look out for each other!' He said in dedication. " Sacrifice and love."

Lance looked up at Rouxls. " We're family, right?" He asked.

Rouxls froze, sweating a bit as he looked away. " Why, of course. " He smiled.

" Would you die for me?" Lancer asked in a serious tone. This only made Rouxls sweat even more. Why was he so serious all of the sudden? He had never asked anything so...dark.

" What art thou talking about? Thou art my prince." He said. " I would lay down my life for you, my Prince." 

" I don't want loyalty out of obligation..." Lancer said, looking away. " I want a real family. With a mommy and a daddy."

Rouxls stopped and looked at the boy for a moment before he knelt down. He placed his hand on Lancer's shoulder. The mall spade looked up at the man who wore a gentle smile. " Lancer. You have everything you need right in front of you." He said gently. "Now." Rouxls stood up quickly and smiled. " I shall go forth and sabotage one of mine own puzzles! We shall see if those worms can proceed!" He laughed loudly before disappearing.

Lancer watched as the male disappeared. " ..." He looked back down at the stone in his hand before he stood up, slowly. 

Why did things have to be this way?

\----------

Ralsei, Kris, Acacia and Susie were resting at Seam's for a bit. He provided company and warm drinks to help them rejuvenate. Ralsei and Kris were drawing on old parchment while Susie sat against the wall, brooding. Acacia sat on the floor with her cup of hot tea. She glanced out the window, watching the trees outside which mysteriously danced. She was mesmerized by the scarlet color. This was the first time she was able to sit down and take in her surroundings.

"Seems you four have had quite the journey so far." Seam said as he walked over to Acacia. She looked up at him. 

" Oh. Well, its been quite the adventure." She smiled. " I'm curious about something..."

" Yes?"

"Could you possibly tell me more about the Lighteners? They seem to be hated so much but Ralsei made it sound as though they were a large part of your history." Acacia said.

"Well. Long ago the Lighteners lived in harmony with the Darkeners. They were like gods to us. They protected us, created us, gave us purpose. Then, one day we were all locked away in this prison. The Lighteners never returned." Seam said. He studued her face as he spoke. "Embittered, the King took up arms, and aimed to take revenge upon the Lighteners that left us behind. ' Course, even among his troops, some still distantly hope the Lighteners will return one day." 

" Thats aweful..." She said. " So everyone has been trapped down here?" Seam nodded. 

"That was a long time ago. But for some of us it still feels like yesterday. As for the kingdom, this land was ruled by the Four Kings, from Card Castle to the East. But, recently a strange knight appeared and locked three of the kings away."

Acacia's eyes widened

"The remaining King put him and his strange son into power. The kingdom hasn't seen this much chaos since...." He paused.

"Since what?" She asked.

Seam grinned, mischieviously as he looked at her. " You don't need to know about THAT." He replied.

Acacia swallowed a bit before she turned away and took a sip of her tea.

\----------

After they were well rested the four of them gathered what little they had and set back out. Seam waved goodbye as they stepped out of the shop and headed further East. ]

The group continued til they noticed someone standing up ahead, blocking their path.

"Lancer?"Ralsei spoke.

"Well, flip my flapjacks! The clowns are back in town!" He chuckled. " Well, bad news! Since you last saw me several minutes ago I've created a brand new fighting team ready to stop you!" He grinned. " Not even the purple girl can stop me now! Ho ho ho! You ready to be-"

"Stop. Just stop talking..." Susie interrupted. "ho ho ho? What is that? Why are you saying that?"

"Ho ho ho? It's my evil laugh! Scary, right!?" He said with pride. 

Acacia, Kris and Ralsei looked at each other. 

"You sound like baby Santa Claus." Susie interjected.

Lancer looked stunned for a moment. "Uh, you mean, like, in a cool kinda way?" He asked.

"Shut up." Susie said with a smirk as she made her way towards the little spade. 

Acacia watched nervously. She didn't like where this was going.

"You REALLY think you know how to be scary?"

"W-well I.." Lancer stuttered.

"Wrong. Man, wanna be tough guys like you REALLY make me mad." She said. " Face it. You wouldn't know scary if it picked you up and bit your face off!" Susie said as she drew closer.

Lancer looked up at her, sad. " Th-That's not true.."

"Oh, really?" She said as she moved closer. She grabbed Lancer by the throat and picked him up.

"Susie!" Acacia yelled.

"Then why don't we prove it?" she chuckled. "we'll start with the part where your face gets bit off! " Susie burst into laughter.

Acacia was about to interfere when Lancer chimed in.

"Ohhhh, ok. I get it!" He said. " Thank you purple girl!"

Susie froze. " What?"

"Thanks! It was kind of you to teach me to be scary, with an evil laugh!" He said, smiling while still in Susie's grip.

Susie looked annoyed. " Hey I wasn't-"

"And now.." Lancer grinned and he jumped back from Susie. Behind him appeared some Jigsawrys. "You guys are going to be thrashed!" He said before erupting into laughter , just as Susie did. " Merry Christmas!" He yelled before running off.

Susie sighed . " I guess thats an improvement." she said as she drew her axe.

" Here we go..." Ralsei said. Kris drew his sword while Acacia 's shield appeared.

\----------

The battle went by quickly since the Jigsawrys ran off after Susie attacked them. They moved on into the next room where they were met with a gate.

" Oh! Look guys, another puzzle!" Ralsei said with a smile.

Susie sighed. "Ughh..."

"Oh come on Susie. It wont be so bad. Let's read the instructions" Ralsei said as he walked over to the sign that was posted on the gate. He froze. " Huh! The instructions are vandalized!" He said. "It says..'Thoust fools, thou will never figure it out now!"

Acacia walked over to the sigh as Ralsei sighed. " Ruining the instructions is against the rules.."

Acacia leaned in, laughing a bit. "Then it says, 'P.S- I make my own rules. Rk." She stood up and looked over at Ralsei. " Who is RK?" She asked. Ralsei said.

" Well that explains everything, then." Susie said as she walked over to the gate. " Why don't we just climb over this spiked fence?"

"Because we would get impaled and die...?" Ralsei replied

"Sweet, let's do it!" Susie grinned.

"No" Acacia said with a glare.

" You just gotta suck the fun out of everything, dont you?" Susie said, crossing her arms.

Acacia grinned as she crossed her arms. " Thats me. The certified 'Fun Sucker'." she teased.

"Well aren't you funny?" Susie mumbled.

Kris moved over the the blocks. looking at the puzzle. He started pushing one of the bricks, guiding it to the pressure plate.

" Oh great idea." Acacia as she moved to the other one. She pushed it but it went flying across the floor, causing her the faceplant.

"Acacia! Are you alright?" Ralsei asked.

Acacia started laughing. Her face still shoved into the dirt. Her head popped up as she laughed. " I'm fine. I just misjudged how heavy it would be"

They all laughed a bit as Kris pushed the brick onto the final pressure plate. With that the gate opened.

Acacia stood up and brushed herself off. "Thanks Kris." she said with a smile.

" You did it! Now we can advance!" Ralsei said with excitement.

"Ugh, I didn't get to impale myself" Susie mumbled." Oh well. Come on, let's get this over with." She said as she walked through the gate.

Kris and Ralsei followed after her. Meanwhile , Acacia stood there for a moment before following after the others.

In the bushes stood Rouxls. He grit his teeth in frustration, having witnessed the team taking on his puzzle. How dare they make a mockery of his efforts. Though, he did find the tall human somewhat amusing, He never say someone fall so clumsily. Well... that wasn't necessarily true. Lancer seemed to be the empitome of a clutz in every sense of the word.=

Regardless, he had to try harder if he was going to defeat this worms!


	5. A New Enemy?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N  
> Hey everyone. First off I want to apologize for the delay in updates. I've been having a lot of personal matters going on and just needed a little break to collect myself. I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday so far and I just want to thank everyone for the kudos and comments. I can't say thank you enough for the support and love being shown. Without further ado here is chapter 5!

Kris and company were sitting on the ground, panting. It seemed their opponents were getting more and more aggressive as they drew closer to the Castle. 

" Ugh Those bastard's aim is getting better." Susie said.

"It would appear so.." Ralsei sighed. "They're not the King's Guards for nothing."

"How much further is it to the Castle?" Acacia asked. Ralsei adjusted his glasses as he looked at their surroundings. 

" We're not that much further but I'm afraid its going to get worse from here on out." He replied.

"Ughhhh...don't tell me that.." Susie groaned. " Can't we just plow through them? Being a Pacifist is such a waste of time.." 

"It's not a waste of time, Susie. We musn't stoop to the King's level." Ralsei said, crossing his arms. Susie just rolled her eyes.

Acacia stood up and walked a few feet as she looked ahead at the pathway. She found it to be rather curious. The grass cut off and there was a checker pattern pathway up ahead. " Hey, check this out." She said.

The others stood up and walked over to her. They noticed part of the path was lighting up.

"What is that?" Susie asked.

" Let's go check it out." Acacia said as she started walking towards the paths that were lighting up.

" Be careful, I have a bad feeling about this." Ralsei said.

As they approached the wider path ,they noticed the lights were alternating. 

" I wonder what is with this light." Acacia said.

"Ugh! Come on, we don't have time for this!" Susie said as she started walking.

"Susie wait!!!!" Ralsei shouted.

She walked a couple of yards before the light caught her foot and she disappeared.

"Susie!!" They shouted.

"Where did she go?!" Acacia asked in a panic.

"I-I don't know!" Ralsei said.

"W-What the-!?" They heard someone behind them. They quickly turned to find Susie was teleported behind them.

" Oh, there you are." Ralsei said.

" What the hell happened?!" Susie yelled.

" I think if you get caught by the light it teleports you back to the beginning." Acacia said.

They all looked ahead and watched the lights. Acacia grinned a bit and looked back at Kris and Susie. " Last one to the end is a rotten egg."

" Oh now you're talking!" Susie said as she cracked her knuckles. Kris rolled up his sleeves.

" I-I don't think tha-" Ralsei couldn't finished before the three of them took off down the pathway, Susie had the lead followed by Kris and Acacia. Ralsei just blinked as he watched. Their figures were shrinking until Ralsei heard someone cursing behind him, causing him to jump. He turned around quickly to see Susie running passed him to catch up. Wait... did he see a smile?

He then heard heavy breathing behind him. Acacia rushed by and was laughing. " Come on Ralsei!!" She laughed. Kris also rushed passed him and turned to waved for him to follow. 

Acacia teleported behind him again and took off down the path. " Susie you can't push me that's cheating!!!!" She yelled.

He sighed and shook his head for a moment before he smiled and took off down the path.

\----------  
They made it halfway through the board when they ran into Lancer. The four of them were trying to catch their breath. 

Lancer laughed as he stood with his back facing them." So you've begun to cross the Great Board.." He snickered. " The halfway point to our Castle. Hmmm....Impressive. You seemed to be having fun as well. What a shame...you won't make it a step further!!! 'Cause my guys are about to smash you into blood!! Lot's of blood! Splooshing blood! Very gross and bad!!" He as he erupting with laughter. He kicked a bucket between them.

They just stood there and stared at the bucket for a moment before Lancer spoke again. " Hey, purple girl, was that scarier?"

Susie jumped and looked at Lancer. " Why are you asking ME?"

"Because you're really cool at being terrifying!" He replied. I wanna be as scary as you."

Susie looked away for a moment, thinking. She walked over to him, looking at him in disbelief. "You...wanna be like me?"

"Yeah!" the Spade cheered.

" Well....that's stupid." Susie mumbled. "But , um... the new laugh isn't as awful. And saying you'd turn us into blood is, uh, cool. What is up with the bucket, though?"

Lancer looked up at her. "It's to put the blood in."

"Oh..."

"Yeah, I'm not, uh, supposed to make a mess. Anyway! Thanks for your feedback! I'm really feeling scary!"

Susie rubbed her head. " Uh, sure, no problem, I guess. Heh" She paused as her eyes shifted. "So are your guys gonna attack us, or..."

"Ohhh. Yeah. I got so excited I forgot to bring any." Lancer smiled. " But next time, it'll be the end for..." He paused for a moment. " Hey, I've just been calling you guys Clowns..don't you guys have an official name or something?"

"The &*%! Club." Susie said with a grin.

"Susie!!!" Ralsei yelled. 

" Oh.... I don't think I'm allowed to say that word." Lancer said.

"Come on it's an awesome name!" Susie said.

"Susie we're not going to call ourselves that..." Acacia said.

" No one asked you." Susie snapped.

" What is your deal, Susie. We were just laughing together and now you're acting like-"

"Like what?" Susie snapped. She grit her teeth as she approached Acacia. " All you adults have a problem with me. All you do is sit there and judge me and tell me what I can and can't do!"

Acacia stepped back a little as Susie moved closer. "Susie I'm not judging you. We don't have a problem with you but you act so aggressive. All we want is to help you." She said.

" I don't need your help. This is who I am." Susie said.

" No, it's not. You're better than this." Acacia said softly. She placed her hand on Susie's shoulder. "I'm sorry if I come off too strong. It's just that I worry about you. And I worry about you because I care about you, Susie. We all do." She said gently. Susie looked away for a moment before she looked up at Acacia.

" Well I don't need you to worry about me." She said. Susie raised her hands and pushed Acacia back, causing her to stumble back.

"Acacia!' Ralsei yelled.

\----------

Acacia's foot was caught by the light which teleported her all the way back to the beginning. She yelled as she lost her footing and fell back. She landed on something and winced in pain. " Ugh...Susie!!! I swear if she does anything to Lancer I'll-"

" Couldest thou remove thine self off me? Thou art heavy...." She heard a voice beneath her. 

She quickly looked down and realized she was on top of someone. " Oh, I'm so sorry!!!" She said as she quickly stood up. She reached down and helped the man to his feet. " I hope I didn't hurt you." She said.

"Don't worry thine head. I am more durable than I appear. " He grinned. " I have been following thine company for a while. I must say I've enjoyed watching thine struggles."

"Uh...thanks?" She said. " Look I know you work for the King but I have to get back to the others. I'm worried about what may happen with the King's son." She said.

The young man seemed to drop his act and suddenly looked concerned. " Did something happen to Lancer?" he asked.

He spoke about Lancer so formally compared to the others. " Oh, no but one of my companions doesn't exactly see eye to eye with everyone else. I want to make sure she doesn't do anything."

" You seem to care a great deal about the Prince." He said.

"Well, I do." She said. " I know he's supposed to be stopping us but I can't help but find him to be rather endearing." She laughed.

"Endearing isn't exactly the word I'd use. " He mumbled.

"I can see a lot of the King's subjects aren't very fond of Lancer." She said.

" That's putting it mildly." Rouxls said. "The boy can be infuriating at times."

"Most kids are like that." She chuckled.

" You sound like you have experience with unruly children." He said as he crossed his arms. 

"Er.. Well I work at a school so I'm around a lot of kids." She said. " I'm Acacia by the way." She smiled, reaching out for his hand in attempt to change the subject. He looked a bit taken back before he grinned and shook her hand. 

" Thy name is Rouxls Kaard!! Duke of Puzzles!" He said with pride.

Acacia snorted a bit. " Why do you talk like that?"

Rouxls laughed nervously and cleared his throat. " What doth thou mean? This is how I always speaketh."

" Oh?" She grinned and crossed her arms. She decided to not teased him too much. " So, you're the one giving us all this grueling puzzles, huh?"

"Why yes, milday. Thou art looking at the greatest puzzle maker in the Dark world!" He chuckled. 

Dear lord this man was delusional but it was kind of cute.

"Well I look forward to solving more of your puzzles." She smiled. " In the meantime, I need to get back to my friends." She said with a wave.

He watched her as she turned to head back through the path. " Hold on. If you like, I'll take you back. " He said.

She turned to look at him. " You want to help me?"

"Well, you seem to be the only one that really cares about the kid so...I can't, in good conscience, delay you." He said. She smiled a bit at him.

" I appreciate it." She said.

Rouxls reached out for her hand , which she took. A portal opened behind him and he stepped back, drawing her through the light. When they stepped through the other side they were at the end of the board. She looked around and smiled. 

"Thank you Rouxls."She said.

"Don't mention it. Just keep an eye on the kid, alright?" He sighed.

" I will. But I have to say, I think you're wrong." 

He looked up at her, curiously.

She smiled gently at him. " I don't think I'm the only one that cares about Lancer." She grinned.

Rouxls seemed to turn a bright shade of blue as he looked away. " Right. Well, Don't get comfortable fool. I am thine greatest enemy. Best you watch thineself!!!" He yelled before he quickly disappeared.

Acacia was amused at the sight of seeing Rouxls flustered. She turned to face the path ahead and quickly ran to catch up with the others.

Thankfully it wasn't long until she reached the others. She stopped when she only saw Ralsei and Kris. " Hey!!" She called out to them.

" Acacia! You're alright!" Ralsei said.

" Yeah, I made it back alright. Where is Susie?" She asked.

Ralsei and Kris looked at each other. " Uh....well..." Ralsei rubbed his head. " She uh....joined Lancer."

Acacia's eyes grew wide in shock." WHAT!?"


	6. Sitting Ducks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone.  
> Just wanted to say that with the holidays coming around my updates will be slow but im hoping to post one or two more chapters before Christmas. After that I'll be taking a break til after New Years.
> 
> I just want to thank everyone or their support and I truly hope that you are enjoying my story. I'm not much of a writer so im sorry if the chapters seem rushed. I spend up to 5 hours at a time on each chapter so they feel pretty long to me lol. But thank you again and I can't wait to wrap up this story. I'm looking forward to it.

Kris, Ralsei and Acacia were making their way through the Scarlet Forest. Acacia was trailing behind a bit, lost in thought. She was so worried about Susie. Ralsei explained what had happened with the new opponent. Ralsei was beating himself up over how he handled Susie and he felt like he had been too hard on her and drove her to a life a crime. Acacia was more worried about Lancer. With the two of them together now she was worried that Susie's bad...'habits' would rub off on the little spade.

While they were walking through the forest Acacia was passing by a bush. Suddenly something came flying out of the bush which caused Acacia to scream and fall backwards. Ralsei and Kris turned to face her . 

"Acacia! Are you alright?" Ralsei asked as they rushed over to her. Acacia just laid there. 

"Er.....Acacia?" Ralsei leaned over Acacia. Her eyes were stuck, staring straight up into the abyss. "Is everything alright?" He asked.

"Just peachy." She said.

"Do you want help up?" He said as he held out his hand.

"Nah, I'm good. I'm just going to let the beast eat me this time." She sighed.

"I don't think the beast is hungry for humans." He replied.

Acacia leaned up, looking at the small white bunny standing ahead of the group. She groaned and let her head fall back to the ground. " Little white bunnies are the worst. " She said.

"Why is that?" Ralsei asked. 

"Didn't anyone every tell you? White rabbits are the most ferocious beasts to exist." She said.

" What? No, that's not true." He said. Though it sounded like more of an attempt to reassure himself.

"But it is. Haven't you ever heard of King Arthur and the Quest for the Holy Grail? It was a great and noble quest, much like this one, but when they found this cave there was a terrifying white rabbit waiting for them. All around the area there were knights which had been stripped of their flesh. The Rabbits mouth was stained with blood." She sat.

Ralsei looked horrified as his eyes shifted over to the tiny white rabbit. He was about to reply when he suddenly heard Kris snickering.

Acacia looked up at Ralsei who appeared angry at her. She just smiled a bit. " Sorry, I couldn't help myself." She teased as she sat up. The little white bunny hopped over to her, hopping into her lap. She smiled as she gently pet the little rabbit. " Hello there." she said.

"Acacia. Are you sure you're ok?" Ralsei asked. 

" I'm...alright. I guess I just have a lot on my mind right now. I shouldn't let it get to me but sometimes its hard. " She said. 

" We have been going for a while. Maybe there's an area up ahead where we can rest." Ralsei said.

Acacia looked down and gently pet the rabbit. " Yeah..." She said softly.

\----------

After travelling for a few minutes they came across Susie and Lancer. Ralsei looked pleasantly surprised while Acacia fought off the urge to scold Susie.

"Susie! Lancer!" Ralsei said cheerfully. Susie chuckled.

"Well if it isn't the so-called heroes." Lancer said with a grin.

(S) "Are you finally ready to see what happens..."

(L) "When you try to act soft.."

(S) "Against a team that will crush anyone in their way?"

Lancer turned and posed. " Dark Jack Lancer!!"

Susie grinned as she posed as well. " Violent Ax Susie!"

"And together we're..."

The area lit up with a mysterious light which quickly faded to reveal Lancer and Susie in a dramatic pose. "The Dark Lancer Fan Club!"

Ralsei, Acacia and Kris looked at each other. 

"Um, so what's your evil plan?" Ralsei asked.

Susie looked nervous. " Huh? Dude we just formed our team! We havent' done anything past our intro yet."

Lancer nodded. " Have a little patience please."

Ralsei looked a bit surprised. " Oh uh sorry. We look forward to seeing the rest." He said with a smile.

Susie grinned. " Heh, well, you won't have to look forward for long."

Lancer grinned. " Starting now we are going to work, ceaselessly..."

"Unstoppably" Susie interjected.

"To make an evil plan to thrash you clowns." Lancer said. 

Susie chuckled. " Watch your backs." She said as she turned away.

Lancer followed suit. "..and your fronts!" He said before they took off.

The Three of them looked at each other again.

"Well, that was...interesting." Acacia said.

" We will have to be careful." Ralsei replied.

\----------

Acacia and the others traveled further into the Scarlet Forest. They spent hours going through a few grueling puzzles, some which were clearly sabotaged by Rouxls Kaard. Thankfully the puzzles were fairly simple to do and some of the locals were kind enough to help though some of them they ended up having to challenge on the way out, but thankfully no one was hurt.

Once they managed to get past Clover who wander off talking about Ralsei, they headed North to an open area which housed a few shops.

"Seems you have yourself some fans, Ralsei." Acacia teased. Ralsei looked away and blushed. 

" I regretted making the decision to talk about boys. I thought they'd just keep talking about this RK guy.." He said.

" RK......" She thought for a moment. Obviously they were talking about Rouxls Kaard. It wasn't that hard to figure out since he wrote in that ridiculous ye olde english text. She couldn't help but chuckle a bit, remembering that he got flustered. If anything she couldn't help but agree with Clover. He was rather handsome...in his own way.

"Acacia!!" Ralsei called out, causing Acacia to jump. Oops, she was daydreaming.

"Sorry, what did you say?" She asked as she blushed a bit.

"There's a few shops up ahead. We can get something to eat and take a little break." Ralsei said as he pointed. Kris was already at one of the stands to buy some food.

" Oh, thanks but im not very hungry." She said. " You go on ahead."

Ralsei nodded and made his way over to Kris' side. She looked at the other stands and froze when she saw Susie and Lancer standing behind it. Her brow arched as she walked over to them. "So, what's on the menu?" She asked.

Lancer grinned and bounced around a bit. " We have a fresh batch of Lancer cookies!"

"All proceeds go towards kicking your butt!" Susie said with a grin.

"Only 40G for a limited time!" Lancer said.

Acacia looked at them. She couldn't help but smile a bit before she fished the coin out of her pocket. " Sure. I'll take one." She said as she placed the coin on the counter. Susie quickly took it and ran off. Lancer placed his cookie on the stand before following Susie. 

Acacia watched them as they ran directly to one of the other stands and purchased one of their items. She observed Susie who seemed to be enjoying herself a bit. It didn't make much sense to her but she was happy that Lancer was having a positive effect on Susie instead of the other way around. She looked down at the cookie in her hand with a soft smile. It had a little spade on it.

While she was looking at the cookie she felt as if someone was watching her. If she was honest she would say she's felt that way the entire time but for some reason this time it felt more....ominous. It was like a shadow was looming over them suddenly as if the air itself was oppressive. She looked around, growing angry at this intrusion. She couldn't help but feel as if this 'being' was, not only, a threat to her and the group but to the entire World they had ended up in. 

"You're not welcome here..." She mumbled under her breath.

"Acacia? Is everything alright?" Ralsei asked. 

Her head shot up and she nodded. " Yeah. I just think we should keep going."She said.

"Oh, are you feeling better?" He asked. Acacia smiled and nodded.

" I am. I think I can keep going for a bit, if you two are up for it."

Kris gave two thumbs up as Ralsei nodded. " Let's go!"

\----------

They travelled deeper and deeper into the Forest, making their way through carefully. They spent a good amount of time trying to get through these dancing figures. They took their time easing their way into the openings so they could go with the flow of the dancers until they could safely come out on the other side. It wasn't so bad once they got the hang of it.

Once they made it past that part they came to another clearing. Lo and behold there stood Lancer over by one of the bushes.

"Oh, woe! Woe is me! Rows and rows of woes and wow..." Lancer said.

"Where does he come up with this dialogue?" Acacia said more to herself than anyone. She couldn't help but chuckle a bit.

"Lancer, is everything alright?" Ralsei asked.

Lancer turned to face them. It took everything in Acacia's power to not laugh when she saw he was wearing a fake mustache.

"Oh, I'm not Lancer! I'm just a sweet little boy." He replied.

"Why does a sweet little boy have a mustache?" Ralsei asked, clearly not fooled.

Acacia's willpower was weakening.

"As a disguise." Lancer said, matter of factly.

Ralsei rubbed his temples a bit. " So ...what kind of help do you need?"

"See, I have this evil plan that I need to make' He said.

"And why does a 'sweet boy' need to make an evil plan?" Ralsei asked the spade.

"to impress his cool friend Susie!" He replied.

" Oh? Well, we will help the best we can then. " Acacia said.

"Well if it's for friendship then we will gladly help" Ralsei agreed.

Suddenly, Lancer pulled out a large piece of paper and held it up to them. " Just fill it with the most evil thing you can imagine!" He said.

The three of them scanned the paper and froze.

" Is that a duck?" Acacia asked.

" I think so...." Ralsei whispered.

" I mean....I know some ducks at the local pond that are pretty evil." She said.

" I think I'd prefer that over a tank." Ralsei said. Kris nodded.

Once they finished with their evil device Lancer looked over the blueprints. 

"Wow! Looks nasty! Are you sure you aren't evil?" He asked

"Er, no, I suppose we just have a knack for it." Ralsei said.

Suddenly, Susie burst forth from the bushed with a laugh. " Haha, Tricked you!" She yelled. She had leaves and a few twigs stuck in her hair. " Never do something someone else can do for you!" She snickered as she made her way over to the blueprints. " hmm, it's even kind of high class looking. Great job, Lancer! They were sitting ducks!" She said.

"Yes! And it was all thanks to our enemies. Thank alot you clowns!" Lancer said as the two of them hurried off.

Acacia looked over at Ralsei and Kris. " I'll never understand those two." She said, laughing.

" It's nice that Susie found a place where she fits in." Ralsei said.

Acacia busted out laughing. " Was that a pun?" She asked as she pointed to the bush which still held Susie's form, perfectly.

Ralsei just chuckled. " Maybe."

\----------

They pressed on, moving further down the path. Acacia noticed something off to the side of them, just up ahead. 

" Hey, what's that?" She asked.

Ralsei looked over where she was pointing. He wasn't quite sure what it was himself. But as they drew near the creature took flight. It hovered for a moment before it started spitting stars at them.

" Gah! Hey cut it out!!" Acacia yelled as she ducked out of the way.

"Run!" Ralsei yelled.

The three of the took off down the path as they were chased by the winged creature. They manage to get a few scraps by the time they reached this off bell standing off to the side. Kris rang the bell which caused the winged beast to stop. The body of the beast which was in itself, a star, dropped down and walked right by them as the wings flew off by themselves.

They panted a bit as they watch the stars saunter off on its own.

" The hell was that about?" Acacia asked.

\----------

They travelled on and came to a stop when they saw Susie and Lancer lounging about with some of the Rudinn fanning them. Acacia blinked a few times as she watched them for a moment. " Well you two look comfortable." she said.

" Well, when you're as successful as we are you get all the perks!" Lancer said.

Ralsei walked over to Susie. " So you ready to be a good guy again?" He asked.

Susie just laid there with her hands behind her head. " Nah gotta say being a bad guy is pretty sweet." She smirked. " Not only is it way more fun than being 'good', but my teammate's PROUD of what I do."

"Earlier, Susie ate a pinecone off the floor." Lancer said. "It gave her a terrible stomach ache but it was very brave and cool!"

"See? Finally some respect!" Susie yelled.

Acacia walked over to Lancer. She crossed her arms and smiled a bit. " So, How's the thrash machine we designed going?"

"The what machine?" He asked

"The...machine you guys made us come up with." She said. " We did it like not even an hour ago."

"Oh that. Yeah, we'll make it at the last minute." Susie said.

" You two should really start working on it earlier" Ralsei said.

" What's with the lecture. I didn't come here to get a second dad!" Lancer replied.

Susie chuckled. " Yeah, you tell him!"

While Lancer and Susie were chuckled Acacia heard one of the Rudinn fanning Lancer speak to the other. " Ughh, why does the King make us take care of his son?" He complained. " He's not a bad kid, but he's so weird, and its so...obligatory.."

"Yeah it's no wonder no one really likes him." Said the Rudinn who was fanning Susie.

Acacia pretended she didn't hear them but the wheels in her mind were turning. How could they talk like that.... especially about the son of their own King?

"But at the same time, no one wanted to be his friend. He ended up becoming REAL friends with a Lightner. And an evil one at that!" the other said.

Acacia looked down at Lancer who was watching Susie talk with Kris and Ralsei. So.... he didn't really have any friends. And by the way Rouxls sounded, His father wasn't much of an influence for him either. What about his mother? She thought.

"Come on Acacia. We have to keep going." Ralsei said.

"Coming." She replied.


	7. Shadows in Cages

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kris and Acacia are being pursued by an unknown being as they draw closer to the castle. Lancer and Susie decide to team up with Kris and the others until things don't go quite as planned. They end up finding themselves in the Castle Dungeons.
> 
> Disclaimer:  
> The prison scene is not my original idea. It is based off a comic by cjs-scribbles. I think the idea is genius and decided to pay tribute to their awesome idea. I will leave a link to the comic dub and their tumblr page. You guys should definitely check them out.
> 
> Comic dub https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX4NjP_5pww  
> Cjs-Scribbles Tumblr http://cjs-scribbles.tumblr.com/

Acacia followed Kris and Ralsei to the next room where there was a large open area. Before them were three paths, separated . It seems they were going to have to make a choice. 

" Where do you think we should go?" Ralsei asked. 

"They all look the same to me." Acacia said.

"Well , we're not going to get anywhere just standing here. Let's go." He said. Acacia and Kris nodded as they walked together throught the Maze.

\-----------

After going on a wild goose chase with Lancer and being chased down by several white rabbits they finally made their way through the maze. 

" Why was that such an ordeal?" Ralsei said.

"It wasn't so bad Ralsei. Besides, we made it through alright. I'm sure we're almost to the Castle now." Acacia said.

" Yeah, you're right." He said. " Come on, let's keep moving." He said with a smile.

Acacia started following him when she noticed Kris was distracted by something. She turned and walked over to him quietly . " Kris? Is something wrong?" She asked.

He just stood there, silent. 

She looked around at the trees for a moment when she noticed a dark figure in the shadows. Her eyes widened as she looked into the silhouettes. Suddenly there was a red flash as both her and Kris fell to the ground, clutching their heads. Kris began to tremble as tears fell from his eyes. Acacia began to weep as her body shook. Her eyes were faded as if she were in a trance. She whimpered as she looked down at her hands which were covering in blood.

"Your fault" she heard a whisper.

"No.." Her voice was trembling. " It wasn't...me." She cried. The cry of a baby could be heard, echoing in the distance.

" You did this" the voice said.

" Get OUT!!!!" She screamed. Suddenly a blue light burst forth from her body. The shockwave caused the ground to rumble as her and Kris were knocked down. Whatever happened, it made it stop. 

Acacia was breathing heavily as she looked for Kris. " Kris? Kris! Are you ok?" She asked as she crawled over to him. He wouldn't look at her. He only laid there and trembled. 

She pulled him into his arms as she laid there beside him. " I'm here, Kris. It's ok." she whispered. 

" Acacia!? KRIS!?" Ralsei rushed over to them with Susie and Lancer close behind. The three of them looked shocked. 

" Ralsei.... " she spoke. " What...was that?" She asked.

He looked at her confused. " What are you talking about?"

" There was someone....or something in the trees. All of the sudden we were thrown into this...aweful illusion. " She said, her voice still trembling. 

Ralsei rushed to their side, kneeling down. " Is Kris hurt?"

" I don't think so but he's pretty shaken up.." She said.

" I'll use my Pacify spell and see if that will help." He said as he placed his hands on Kris. His body gently glowed green until Kris' breathing finally became more relaxed. Kris looked up at Acacia before he hugged her tightly. She kissed his forehead to reassure him.

Lancer watched the exchange before looking up at Susie. " Hey Susie. What's she doing?" 

Susie looked down at Lancer. " What? You mean kissing him?" She replied.

" Kissing? Does that help?" He asked.

" Er. Sometimes I guess. It could mean a lot of things depending on how its done I guess. Like how a mom kisses you to make you feel better. Or....someone you like to show affection?" She replied awkwardly.

"Can I have a kiss?" He asked.

"What!? Dude , no, I'm not kissing you." She yelled.

"But I want to feel better." He said , looking almost sad.

" Then get her to do it." Susie spat.

Meanwhile, Kris stood up, still shaking a bit. Ralsei helped him up as Acacia slowly stood. She sighed in relief that whatever this was had passed. 

" Hey, you clowns. Don't go thinking that since you had a meltdown that we'll go easy on you!" Susie yelled.

" Yeah!" Lancer said with a grin.

Acacia looked over at them. She suddenly looked so tired. " You guys... I think now is a good ti-"

"Running away huh?" Susie said with a smirk. She crossed her arms.

" yeah, you guys deserve a thrashing since that weird bang destroyed our machine before we could!" Lancer yelled.

'wait, did they actually build that thing?' Acacia thought to herself. " O-Oh. Well, thats a shame." She said.

"So now, we get to fight you!!" Susie yelled as she drew her axe.

" Wait Susie, stop!!! We don't want to fight!!" Acacia yelled.

"Yeah, guys. Kris isn't looking so good!" Ralsei replied.

Kris just stood up and walked next to Acacia.. 

"Kris? You really want to do this?" She asked him. He looked up at Acacia and nodded as he drew his sword.

Ralsei sighed as he ran over to their side. " I guess it can't be helped then."

"Let's make a deal. If you can beat me, I'll go back to being a good buy. But if you lose, YOU guys have to become bad guys." Susie said with a grin.

The three of them looked at each other. 

" Alright then, let's do this." Acacia said as she drew her shield.

Lancer hopped onto his bike and laughed. " En Garde!" He yelled.

Susied rushed in to attack Kris but Acacia stepped in to block her. She looked over her shield at her opponemt who was...smiling? She suddenly dodged out of the way as Lancer came flying through on his bike. He ran straight into Acacia, knocking her back. 

She winced in pain as she stood up. Ralsei went to heal her but she stopped him. " Wait. I have an idea." she said as she leaned in to whisper. Lancer and Susie looked at each other for a moment before Acacia stood up with a smirk.

Ralsei began to sing a soft tune. Susie was going to attack but she felt her eyes grow heavy. " Wha...." She fell to her knees, nodding off. 

" What a lovely song!" Lancer said with a smile.

"Thank you" Ralsei replied.

" Hey Lancer, we love your bike. Did you put it together yourself?" Acacia smiled.

" Thank you! Well, I tried but Lesser dad had to help me with a few things." Lancer replied.

"That was sweet of him" She smiled.

"Lesser dad is the best!" Lancer said with a smile.

\----------

By the time Susie woke up the fight was over. She looked around confused for a moment until she saw Lancer talking with the others. 

" Hey, that was dirty." Susie said.

Acacia chuckled a bit. " Well it was the only way to put you out of commission without hurting you." She replied. Acacia remember how Susie would fall asleep in the music room when the children would practice choir. It was her one weakness.

" I have to say... I'm kind of impressed." Susie confessed.

" You think I can't fight dirty" Acacia teased.

Susie looked a bit surprised for a moment before she smiled a bit. " Alright... I guess you guys win...so I'll join you..." She sighed as she walked past Lancer.

" Um , Susie. Does this mean we aren't a team anymore?" Lancer asked.

Susie looked at him awkwardly. "Huh? Umm, I mean, uhh... of course we're still a team."

"Lancer, you can be a part of our team, if you want." Acacia smiled. " You're more than welcome to and we'd love to have you with us." she said.

Lancer's face lit up. "Wow! Me join you guys!" He said. His smiled dropped when he thought of something. "So if I join you guys does that mean I can get kisses too?" He asked.

Susie turned pale as Acacia blushed a bit in surprise. 

" Uh. If that's what you really want, Lancer. " Acacia said with a smile. She definitely wasn't expecting that.

"Ha! Lancer joins the party!" He yelled.

\----------

The team walked onward, with Lancer staying close by in the distance. With Lancer on the team it certainly brought more flare to the atmosphere. Acacia was happy to have both of them back. 

"Wow, this is so cool. I've never been part of such a big team before." Lancer said.

"Don't you have a legion of various guys?" Ralsei asked.

"Yeah but my dad forced them to listen to me. " Lancer replied with a frown. "So...they didn't actually like me very much."

"Well, you don't need those clowns anymore!" Susie said. " Just chill with us!"

"Yeah. Susie's right." Acacia smiled.

"Alright!" Lancer said with a brighter smile.

As they continued walked Susie groaned a bit. 

"Man im still hungry." She said. 

"Look Susie, there's a candy tree up ahead." Lancer said.

" Aw, hell yeah!" She replied as the two of them hurried over to the tree. Acacia watched them as they worked together to get the candy star down. 

Susie talked with Lancer for a moment before she gave him the star to eat since he hadn't had one before. She asked him what it tasted like.

"Tastes like friendship" He said.

"And what does that taste like?" Susie asked.

" Like my teeth are disentigrating." Lancer replied before the two of them burst out into laughter.

Acacia chuckled a bit for a moment before her smile fell. The looming shadow from earlier was still worrying her. And it seemed to only be targeting her and Kris. Was it a rogue monster?

She was pulled from her thoughts when Lancer began to speak.

" Just walking along with you guys feels nice. Like i'm doing something....important." He said.

"Lancer, you ARE important." Acacia said with a smile. "We're so blessed to have you and Susie with us." She said.

Lancer looked away smiling. " Thanks, if sure feels nice." He replied.

"Thats because you're along side the Lightners, Lance." Ralsei said. " Our purpose-Darkners' purpose- is to assist them. It's the only way we can feel truly fulfilled."

Lancer looked a little surprised. " Really??" He looked down, rather sad. " But my dad hates Lightners. He wants to.."

"Does youre dad seem happy?" Ralsei asked.

Lancer looked a bit sad. " I'm....not sure."

"Well I, for one, am over this 'purpose' talk. I mean just walking with you guys like this make me happy...maybe." Susie said. 

Acacia and Kris looked at each other with a smile before Ralsei stopped them. " Look everyone! We can see the Castle!" He said.

Acacia looked out into the distance at the dark castle. She gazed up at the fountain which looked as it it were spouting dark energy up into the sky for miles. So this is why they were here. To stop this flow of energy.

"Yes! That's where I live!" Lancer said with pride. " Me and ...uh.." His smile fell. " My dad.."

Susie looked out at the Castle. " What's that black thing emerging from the top?"

Ralsei looked over at her. " That's the fountain, Susie. If we can get there you, Kris and Acacia will finally be able to go home."

"Geez. Took long enough." Susie said with a smirk. "Come on, let's get going!"

\----------

After walking for a few minutes Lancer stopped. " Are you sure there's not another way home?" He asked. "That fountain is being guarded right now. " He looked up at the others concerned. " If you try to go there right now ...uh... you might get hurt and.." he trailed off.

"What? Come on Lancer. No one is going to beat a team like us." Susie said.

Acacia looked over at Lancer. She could tell he was worried about his Father.

"If anyone gets in our way, all we gotta do is crush them!" Susie said thoughtlessly.

Lancer walked a little further past the group. " But what if you had to fight?"

"Everybody bleeds, right? Don't worry about it." Susie said.

"Susie..." Acacia said under her breath.

"Whoever it is, they'll be cold on the ground before you can blink." Susie continued.

Acacia sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. God she was so bad at reading peoples faces...

Lancer stood there for a moment in thought. " I think..." he said. " I think I need to go..."

Susie looked at him confused for a moment. " Huh? When are you going to be back?"

Lancer looked down. He seemed so sad. " ........Never." 

And he took off running.

"Lancer!!!" The group called out before running after him. The small spade was quick as he moved past the guards. 

The group skid to a stop, gasping as they were approached by Rudinn from every angle. They defended best they could, holding out til Ralsei could pacify them.

Once they were out of battle Acacia and Susie ran ahead of the group. 

"Acacia! Susie!!" Ralsei called. Luckily him and Kris were able to catch up, thought the guards were sending their attacks. They dodged as many as they could without losing sight of Lancer.

They pushed through until they came to the entrance of the Castle where Lancer stood.

"Lancer!" Susie yelled. He turned to face them, backing away as they approached until the Castle gate shut before them. Susie gripped the bars and yelled after Lancer. 

"Hey, What are you doing!?" 

Suddenly they found themselves completely surrounded by the Rudinn Guards.

"We've cornered them!" one of them yelled. Suddenly several diamond shards appeared around them.

"W-Wait!!" Ralsei yelled but to no avail. Suddenly, everything went completely black.

\----------

Ralsei and Kris were sitting in their cell. Water was dripping onto the stone floors as Ralsei began to stir. 

"Ugh. Well this is a fine 'How-do-you-do' isn't it Kris?" He turned to see Kris kneeling on the ground, hugging himself. "Kris?"

The human began writhing on the ground , breathing heavily. Ralsei could swear he could hear mumbling coming from somewhere. As he drew closer he realized it was coming from Kris.

" Kris are you ok!?" Ralsei said with worry.

Kris looked up in fear. He didn't acknowledge Ralsei's presence. Ralsei froze when he saw Kris' eyes. They were hazy and coated in red. He was about to call to the human once more when he heard two words come from Kris.

"GET. OUT."

*You feel your sins crawling on your back.*


	8. Haunting Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Acacia has to fight through the nightmare of her past but only with the help of a mysterious person. Lancer is confronted by Susie regarding their jail treatment and they find the other three kings that used to rule. 
> 
> Now they have to fight their way through the Castle to confront the King.
> 
> TIGGER WARNING
> 
> The beginning has some graphic material involving miscarriage/stillborn/ failed pregnancy. There's some blood involved so be warned.

Darkness shrouded Acacia's vision yet again. She woke up and found herself in a hospital bed. The unnerving beep of the EKG was a solid reminder that she was, in fact, still alive. Her body felt...heavy, somehow. But she felt herself falling back to sleep from the warmth of the blanket. 

She then felt a hand touch her arm. " Acacia can you hear me?" a voice said gently. She knew that voice, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it. " Still asleep at this hour." the voice teased.

"Rouxls?" she mumbled. 

"Rouxls? What is that?" the man asked with a slight chuckle. " Don't tell me you're getting high already? The Doctor's hasn't even given you the good stuff yet." He laughed.

She groaned softly as her blue orbs fluttered open. She blinked away the blur in her vision as she looked over at the man next to her. 

" Good Afternoon, my beautiful wife." The man said.

Acacia's face went pale as she looked at the man beside her. " Ryan?" She sat up quickly, but winced. When she looked down she saw that she was with child. 

" Acacia, please. Calm down. What's wrong?" He said. 

" Get away from me!" She yelled. The EKG began to beep faster as she began to panic.

" Darling, please. What's going on? Is something wrong?" He spoke.

" This isn't real" She said as she began to get out of bed.

" Acacia you need to calm down or you'll hurt the baby." Ryan said. With those words she froze. He body began to shake.

" No.... I..." Her mind began to grow fuzzy. She held her head. " What was I doing?" She mumbled.

"Acacia you need to relax. I'll go get you something to drink." He said as he stood up to leave.

Acacia looked around the room. She calmed down for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts." ...... I was...doing something." She said.

"What were you doing?" A small voice spoke.

Acacia looked around in surprise. " I..... I don't remember. " she said. " I was with someone. No... I was... wait." She rubbed her head as she laid back. Just then, the door opened and in walked Ryan and a Doctor. She began to grow nervous.

" Here we are dear. He brought you something to help you feel better. " He said.

" I don't want it. I feel fine." She said.

" Come on now. Just take the medicine and then we will welcome our new baby boy into the world." He smiled.

She blinked a bit before her hand found its way to her stomach. " A ...boy?" 

" Yes. Don't you remember? You were so excited when we found out we were having a boy."

" I.... no..... I need to... do something." She said.

" Babe, you can't. You're days if not hours away from having this baby.." Ryan said.

Suddenly Acacia felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. She cried out as she clutched her stomach. Her toes curled as the EKG spiked again. The sound was defeaning as the room grew dark. The Doctor....her husband ...everyone was gone. She was alone.

" It...hurts." She cried. " Please... someone help!" She cried out. The beeping growing louder and louder, drowning out her scream until it flatlined.

When she opened her eyes again she was standing behind her husband.

"Ryan?" She spoke softly. " Why are you here?" She asked.

He slowly turned around, holding the stillborn in his hands. Blood was trickling down his eyes as he looked into hers. "...your fault."

Her eyes widened in fear. " N-No....." She said as she stepped back. Tears began to stream down her face " I... I didn't.."

" THIS IS YOUR FAULT!!!!" He screamed.

Her breathing increased as she continued to back away. Ryan stepped closer to her, holding the stillborn by the leg, letting it hang there like a doll. " You murderer!..... I can't stand the sight of you." He spoke.

She stepped back. " N-No... I d-didn't do anything! I-It wasn't my fault!" she cried. 

" I hate you!" He yelled.

" You are worhtless to me!"

" You took everything from me!!!!"

" I don't ever want to see you again!!"

"I don't love you anymore. Get away from me! Ican'tstandthesightofyou.Youdeservetodieforwhatyouvedoneyouletoursondie!!!!

Acacia screamed loudly.Her vocal cords were on the brink of shattering as she fell to her knees. Her head clutched in her hands as she felt something wet dripping from her.

When she looked she saw herself covered in blood.

Her eyes widened as her hands began to tremble. " No.." He voice shook. She shut her eyes tight as she stood up quickly and stepped back. When her foot hit the ground it gave way and she began to fall. She gasped softly, her hands covering her eyes as she wept.

" I'm sorry..." She cried.

She felt herself falling...further and further as the sound of a baby's cry echoed in the darkness. Suddenly she heard a soft "Shhhh" in the distance.

She couldn't bear to open her eyes again. She couldn't bear to see anymore. Her past clung to her bitterly as if to say , ' How dare you try to forget.'

"I'm so sorry.." she cried again

"Shhh..." 

She gasped softly as she felt the presence of someone near her. Something that was foreign to her yet...familiar.

" Please..." She whispered as she reached her hand out to the void. Her eyes still closed as her fingers stretched to reach for whoever was there.

She felt the strangers fingers intertwine with hers, wrapping them in warmth as they pulled her into a safe embrace. She relaxed in the beings arms as she wept. " I'm so sorry..." she whispered.

"Shhh..." The being said again as a hand held the back of her head. She suddenly felt weary as her head spun. She relaxed as her head leaned back. She opened herself up to the being who's fingers were still laced with hers. She felt breathing on her face for a moment before a pair of lips pressed themselves firmly against hers. The hand behind her head moved to cup her cheek as the thumb brushed her tears away.

Acacia's lips trembled as she returned the kiss. They felt so welcoming....so soft..and so warm.

When she tried to open her eyes her vision was blurred. All she could see was the color blue. A glint of white shown as the being smiled reassuringly before she came to.

When she opened her eyes, Acacia found herself in a cell. Water dripped onto the cold stone floor of the cell as she looked around but couldn't see anyone around her.

" Kris? Ralsei? Susie?" She called out. But no one answered her. 

She was alone.

\----------

Lancer was pacing the halls of the dungeon when Acacia caught sight of him. " Lancer." She said weakly. He jumped and turned to her.

" It's you..." he said softly. He stopped when he saw her face. She looked so tired and worn out. And she had been crying. This made the spade feel bad. 

" I.... I'm sorry.." He said as he reached up and grabbed the bars. Acacia moved closer to him grabbing the bars above his hands. 

" Lancer...what's going on?" She asked.

He looked down. " I....care about you. I don't want you to get hurt and I don't want my dad to get hurt." He said. 

She looked down at him for a moment before she placed her hand on his cheek. He looked up at her. " Lancer, Ralsei and I would never allow any harm to come to your Father. " She said.

"But...he wants to hurt you. He says you're the enemy but..." He began to tear up. She could tell this was tearing him apart. 

"Lancer.." She whispered as she leaned in. She smiled gently as she cupped his face, bringing him closer. She pressed her face against the bars to kiss him gently on the forehead. " We will set things right. I promise. " 

He looked up at her with his face flushed slightly. " Wow... Susie was right." He said. " mommy kisses do make everything better." He said with a smile.

Her eyes widened for a moment before she smiled. She fought back the tears. " You can have as many as you like." She chuckled.

"Can I give one to you?" He asked.

She smiled at him as she leaned in, letting him kiss her cheek. He then pulled away with a big smile. 

Just then he could hear someone approaching. They turned to see a Rudinn enter.

" Oh, my Prince. I didn't know you would be down here." He said.

" I was just checking on the prisoners. I have orders for you." Lancer said.

" Yes Sir?"

" I don't want any harm to come to them. " Lancer said.

The Rudinn swallowed a bit and looked confused for a moment. Acacia heard someone else approaching as she looked to the other side of the dungeon and saw Susie.

"Understand? They have to stay in their cells. The Lightners can't be allowed to escape." Lancer said to the Rudinn. "Especially the purple one."

The Rudinn nodded and turned to leave. When Lancer turned back around he then noticed Susie standing there.

"S-Susie?" He said , surprised as she stepped back. "W-What are you doing here?"

Susie stepped forward before speaking. " Lancer, Kris and Ralsei are still locked up..."

"I...I know" Lancer said nervously. He turned his back towards Susie as he looked down. " I was the one who told my troops to put you down here. To...To keep you down here.....forever" he confessed.

Susie stepped closer. " Lancer....Y....You.....You wanted to get rid of us?" she said as she growled. " I thought we were a team."

"I..I can explain, Susie" He said

Susie turned her back. " Nah....It's fine. You don't have to say anything. I get it." She took a few steps, looking down. " Why would anyone...really wanna be my friend anyway?"

"Susie, hold on a minute... That's not-" Acacia was cut off when Susie yelled.

" YOU SHUT UP!!! I'm so sick of you butting in!!!" She yelled

Lancer swallowed. " But-"

Susie bared her teeth. " SHUT UP!!!" she yelled as she approached Lancer. To Acacia's dismay he didn't budge an inch. "Get out of my way, Lancer."

"..." Lancer stood there, unmoving without a word.

Susie slammed her fist into the wall causing both Lancer and Acacia to jump. " Did you HEAR ME?" She growled. " GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

"Susie Sto-" Susie swiped at Acacia, causing her to fall back. Her arm began to bleed. " Ghn... Lancer... run." She pleaded.

"N-No!" Lancer said.

Susie laughed. " Man, I tried to warn you." she said as she stepped back. " So don't expect me to feel guilty.." Susie drew her axe." When they have to clean you off the floor!!" She chuckled as she looked at Lancer. " Wanna see what happens to traitors?" She yelled before she rushed Lancer. Acacia screamed when she hit Lancer with her axe.

"SUSIE STOP IT!!!" She cried. But Susie didn't listen.

"They get crushed!" She said as she went to attack again.

Another blow.

"If you dont get out of the way....I'LL KILL YOU!!!" Susie yelled as she attacked Lancer again.

Acacia gripped the bars. " SUSIE!!!! STOP!!!!!" She screamed. Lancer was trembling from the attack and still he refused to fight. " Lancer , please. I'm begging you, just move." She cried.

He looked over at her, tears running down his cheek. " I...I can't do that." He said. " Just...trust me." he whispered.

Acacia watched in horror, slash after slash from Susie.

"Heh, you think I care if you just wanna lie down and die?" Susie said as she went to attack again. Lancer fell to his knee as she trembled.

" Fine... if you want to die so badly...then DIE!!!" Susie yelled as she went to attack. But her axe missed its mark.

Lancer and Acacia looked up to see Susie on her knees.

"S...Susie? You missed." Lancer said.

Susie held her head as she sighed. " I... I don't want to kill you, man. Just move , please." She asked as she looked up at him.

Lancer looked down. " But...Susie if I let you guys go then... then you and my dad will fight and.....and.." he trailed off, looking sad. " You'll kill each other..."

Susie looked up at him. 

" Atleast..if you guys stay here neither of you willl get hurt." He continued.

Susie looked down in thought. " Then...." She paused for a moment before she looked up at Lancer. " I wont kill him. I promise. Me and him will just... talk it out. Peaceful-style. Y'know."

Lancer looked down. " I... I don't think my dad will like that." He said.

Susie went up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. " Hey, Lancer, come one. We're a team right?" she grined. " nothing can stop us! Fighting or not! Alright?"

Lancer thought for a moment before he looked up and smiled. " Yeah! Yeah, you're right! We might as well try and I can help, too!" he said. " I'll go talk to my dad. Ripen him up!" he said with enthusiasm.

Susie smiled. " Hey, now we're getting somwhere." she said.

Acacia sighed in relief.

"I'll head over right now!" Lancer said as he turned to leave. He stopped and turned back to Susie. "S...Susie? Are we still friends?" He asked.

Susie jumped a bit. " Uh...Um sure, of course. I mean, if you wanna be."

Lancer sighed and smiled. " Phew. See you!" He said before taking off.

Susie looked over at Acacia who was still clutching her arm. " I.... I'm sorry. " She said.

Acacia smiled gently as she stood up. " I'm proud of you Susie. " She said.

" Why?" She asked.

" Because you've realized your potential. You can be a better person." She said. 

" Yeah yeah..." Susie sighed.

" Susie, i know you've had it hard. We all have our own struggles with life. We all go through something. But I've found that it makes things easier when you focus on helping others instead of focusing on your own problems all the time. " She said softly. Susie looked away. " We all have a past.... and a lot of us think we're the only ones who are going through what we go through but i assure you you're not the only one having it hard."

" What do you know about it? You and I are not the same so don't try and relate to me." Susie snapped.

" You're right; we're not the same. But I just want you to know that you can't make a puzzle out of pieces that are all alike. It takes different shapes and colors to come together to make a beautiful picture. We don't have to be the same to be family." She said. " And you don't have to go through anything alone. Not anymore" Acacia said.

Susie seemed to have a weight lift from her shoulders. She swallowed hard as she clutched her axe. She yelled as she drew her axe back and slashed at the bars of the cell. She was able to break open it to allow Acacia to get out.

" Maybe..you're right." she said. She smiled a bit as she looked up at Acacia. Her bangs brushed off to the side, exposing her eyes for a moment. " Maybe you're not so bad after all..." She said.

Acacia smiled as she stepped out of the cell. " Come on. let's go save the boys."

\----------

Once Kris and Ralsei were freed the four of them looked for the exit. On their way there, they stumbled upon some colorful characters stuck in a jail cell.

" Hey, who are these guys?" Susie asked.

"You! You are the Lighteners!" The Diamond king said. " Please, you have to help us! We beg you, free us!" he pleaded. " Once, all four of us ruled together, but when the Knight arrived, everything changed."

They looked at each other, shocked. 

"So..King Spade just threw all the other Kngs into the dungeon?" Ralsei said.

"Thats aweful.." Acacia said. " It looked like the Dungeon is getting full."

Kris walked over to one of the Rudinn, Diamond guards.

" I was locked up because I didnt want to fight you guys. How could I? You guys seem WAY nicer than the King. " He said. 

"Don't worry. We will set things right." Ralsei said.

The four of them , then headed back over to where the elevator was. The doors opened at the bell and they entered. Once they close the four of them sat down with a sigh.

" Are you guys ready for this?" Acacia asked.

" Ready as I'll ever be." Susie said. "Hey..Ralsei. Y'know Lancer's dad. The King?"

Ralsei looked up. " Yes?"

"When we meet him do you think we'll have to...hurt him?" Susie asked.

"I hope it wont come to that. We certainly don't want to fight." He said.

" Is there any way to talk with him?" Acacia asked.

"I.... I'm not sure. We can only hope." He replied.

The elevator ride was silent as it came to a stop. The bell rang as the doors opened and they walk out into the halls.

\----------

The elevator doors shut behind them and Rouxls Kaard teleported into the elevator. His arms were crossed as he stood there. " Such toil you've been through. " he spoked softly. " Had you kept in that state...your mind would've been reduced to nothing.." He said. He closed his eyes as he reached up and touched his lips. " If the King knew..... He'd have my head." He said with a sigh.

And with that, he disappeared.


End file.
